First Women's World Championship
September 9-13, 2014
Reported by Matthew Scaife and Maury Sullivan
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Sixth Flight Friday PM
Task Sheet Thursday evening and Friday morning were a washout in Leszno, leaving just two slots for competitors to catch up or pull away. All the teams met in Dolsk for the Friday PM flight where we would try to get a flight away from the grounds of the sponsor Mroz, a famous meat company in Poland. The weather was expected to be fast but on arrival it was plain to see the winds would be calmer than expected and we would be in for a good flight. The briefing was set in a marque especially for this evenings flight and after we would meet back there for a spit roast pig, food and more food! It was a great set up and what looked like a lot of hard work put in by Mroz and the organisers. The ED pulled a Fly In and Watership Down. Winds were perfect, with plenty of steerage in the mid levels and the surface winds fluctuating 5-20 degrees as typical for an afternoon. All balloons launched approx 2 km's to the east of the first target, which was back close to the marque and supper tent. Most balloons had a good line into the target but with changing winds shifting left and right on approach there were not as many good scores as expected. 2 balloons managed to get under a meter but most of the field were between 20 and 70 meters. Next up Watership Down, the Hare balloon had set off at 18.30 leaving 45 minutes to the end of the scoring period. It flew for around 25 minutes, landing approx 7km to the west of Dolsk. Soon the cross was laid out and the majority of the following pack had good visual on the target. With left wind on the surface the balloons climbed high into the right and descended onto the target, again shifting winds on the surface made it hard to nail the target but pretty much all the field were inside 150 meters. Nicola Scaife who was leading the competition coming into the flight by 550 points, however slipped up on the last task hanging herself out to the right allowing Elisabeth Kindermann the chance to close the gap with a good throw. Results after show that Kindermann had cut Scaife's lead to only 88 points leading into the final morning. Final Flight Saturday AM (cancelled) We all woke excited with what lay ahead but soon disappointed to see that heavy fog had formed on sunrise. The breifing was delayed for an hour, then after everyone was moved to the Leszno Airfield. Here we waited, waited and waited until 9am when the ED cancelled the flight making Nicola Scaife the first Women's World Champion. It was a great weeks flying with not all ways favourable flying conditions. MDB tried hard to get as many tasks in as possible and given 16 were flown I would say it was a successful week. Organization in all departments was faultless and we look forward to being back in Poland to compete in future events. |
Results
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Posted September 11th, 2014
Fourth Flight Wednesday PM:
Task Sheet
PDG and HZW was called for the 2nd afternoon flight. With fast approaching rain bands there was a hope we would be able to grab an hours gap in the weather and sneak 2 tasks in. We traveled out to the CLP and it was evident that the wind wasn't playing ball and that with the rain band fast approaching MDB cancelled the flight.
Fifth Flight Thursday AM:
Task Sheet
As predicted given the winds forecast for the morning, 5 tasks were set by the ED. MDDD, HZW, HZW, Donut and Fly On. The meteorologist went through the weather in briefing and warned there maybe a chance of a shower in flight but only light rain was forecast if and when it arrived.
The first task was an ILP but most balloons assembled in a large field about 3km to the ESE of the MDDD. Winds were consistent to the piball readings so there were no issues picking a take off spot and heading into the first task. On approaching to the MDDD the winds on the ground started to shift to the SE and many of the balloons hoping to find left on the ground on their approach were disappointing to find that it had disappeared and once all the field had gone through only 5 had managed to drop in the scoring area.
Soon after half the field had been through the MDDD, it started to rain, light at first then over a period of 30 minutes it became heavy enough that the flight should have been cancelled. I've actually just heard MDB cancelled all tasks after the flight had been completed. As far as I know only two balloon didn't go onto to complete all the tasks. There is sure to be many complaints about this so I'll update when more information comes in.
Cancellation Announcement from MDB
Update 9/12/14: After a protest by Elisabeth Kindermann the jury has ruled that all five tasks from yesterdays flight will count in the overall standings. Follow the Results link on the right for updated standings showing all 14 tasks to this point.
Fourth Flight Wednesday PM:
Task Sheet
PDG and HZW was called for the 2nd afternoon flight. With fast approaching rain bands there was a hope we would be able to grab an hours gap in the weather and sneak 2 tasks in. We traveled out to the CLP and it was evident that the wind wasn't playing ball and that with the rain band fast approaching MDB cancelled the flight.
Fifth Flight Thursday AM:
Task Sheet
As predicted given the winds forecast for the morning, 5 tasks were set by the ED. MDDD, HZW, HZW, Donut and Fly On. The meteorologist went through the weather in briefing and warned there maybe a chance of a shower in flight but only light rain was forecast if and when it arrived.
The first task was an ILP but most balloons assembled in a large field about 3km to the ESE of the MDDD. Winds were consistent to the piball readings so there were no issues picking a take off spot and heading into the first task. On approaching to the MDDD the winds on the ground started to shift to the SE and many of the balloons hoping to find left on the ground on their approach were disappointing to find that it had disappeared and once all the field had gone through only 5 had managed to drop in the scoring area.
Soon after half the field had been through the MDDD, it started to rain, light at first then over a period of 30 minutes it became heavy enough that the flight should have been cancelled. I've actually just heard MDB cancelled all tasks after the flight had been completed. As far as I know only two balloon didn't go onto to complete all the tasks. There is sure to be many complaints about this so I'll update when more information comes in.
Cancellation Announcement from MDB
Update 9/12/14: After a protest by Elisabeth Kindermann the jury has ruled that all five tasks from yesterdays flight will count in the overall standings. Follow the Results link on the right for updated standings showing all 14 tasks to this point.
Posted September 10th, 2014
Second Flight Tuesday PM:
Task Sheet
First afternoon flight started off with windy gusty conditions. The ED called 3 tasks FLY IN, HZW and HZW. There would be a supplementary briefing to the south of Leszno where we would reconvene to check that the task setting would work and the winds die down! During the supplementary both HZW tasks were changed further south to allow for the slight change in wind direction. Time was ticking and by the time we were let go the end of the flight period was only 1 hour away. A few balloons launched straight away but many waited to see how the wind would shift, resulting in half the field not making the final task. The Fly In was pretty straight forward, steerable winds of 20 to 25 degrees was good enough to allow the majority of the field to get close to the target with almost half the field inside the MMA. The first HZW had been changed further to the south to allow for the more northerly wind component coming in during the evening but not enough as most the field missed to the south. The last HZW, neither goal was possible as the winds dropped out with most balloons scoring over 1 km.
Third Flight Wednesday AM:
Task Sheet
We woke to overcast skies for the second morning. Looking outside the flags were limp but fast winds were forecasted aloft. The ED called HZW, HZW and FLY ON. ILP was also called so the teams headed out to approx 4km to the west of the Leszno Airfield, where the first two HZW had been placed. Being the winds were forecasted to be 18kts at 600ft most teams were keen to get into the air and land before the winds picked up. Considering the strength of the wind there was a bit of steerage and with the two HZW targets being close together on the glider strip, the cross was peppered with baggies with half the field scoring inside 7 meters and 3 drops inside a 1 meter. The second HZW was a further 2km away with most of the field going for the northern target as climbing for the southern target wouldn't allow enough time for correction and descend into. Again there was some good flying with 3 pilots scoring inside a 1m and the median 28m. The last task of the morning, FLY IN allowed the pilot to make 2 declarations in the logger, with an altitude and with only 1 logger mark permitted. The default height for the week had been set at 700ft so if you don't declare an altitude in the logger you will be scored to this height. Difficult to know what the results will be for this target but the winds were consistent and fast allowing not much time between your declaration and flying through your declared height. There have been a few murmurings from the pilots that the loggers have a delay, in fast wind conditions this could mean up to 20 meters difference from your actual mark to where your logger is reading. Making for a bit of guess work !!
Results show that Nicola Scaife had a sold morning consolidating her lead, with Elisabeth Kinderman, Dolores Deimling and Elise Kloss all having good mornings to stay hot on her heels!!
Check out Studio LTV for many photos of the event.
Second Flight Tuesday PM:
Task Sheet
First afternoon flight started off with windy gusty conditions. The ED called 3 tasks FLY IN, HZW and HZW. There would be a supplementary briefing to the south of Leszno where we would reconvene to check that the task setting would work and the winds die down! During the supplementary both HZW tasks were changed further south to allow for the slight change in wind direction. Time was ticking and by the time we were let go the end of the flight period was only 1 hour away. A few balloons launched straight away but many waited to see how the wind would shift, resulting in half the field not making the final task. The Fly In was pretty straight forward, steerable winds of 20 to 25 degrees was good enough to allow the majority of the field to get close to the target with almost half the field inside the MMA. The first HZW had been changed further to the south to allow for the more northerly wind component coming in during the evening but not enough as most the field missed to the south. The last HZW, neither goal was possible as the winds dropped out with most balloons scoring over 1 km.
Third Flight Wednesday AM:
Task Sheet
We woke to overcast skies for the second morning. Looking outside the flags were limp but fast winds were forecasted aloft. The ED called HZW, HZW and FLY ON. ILP was also called so the teams headed out to approx 4km to the west of the Leszno Airfield, where the first two HZW had been placed. Being the winds were forecasted to be 18kts at 600ft most teams were keen to get into the air and land before the winds picked up. Considering the strength of the wind there was a bit of steerage and with the two HZW targets being close together on the glider strip, the cross was peppered with baggies with half the field scoring inside 7 meters and 3 drops inside a 1 meter. The second HZW was a further 2km away with most of the field going for the northern target as climbing for the southern target wouldn't allow enough time for correction and descend into. Again there was some good flying with 3 pilots scoring inside a 1m and the median 28m. The last task of the morning, FLY IN allowed the pilot to make 2 declarations in the logger, with an altitude and with only 1 logger mark permitted. The default height for the week had been set at 700ft so if you don't declare an altitude in the logger you will be scored to this height. Difficult to know what the results will be for this target but the winds were consistent and fast allowing not much time between your declaration and flying through your declared height. There have been a few murmurings from the pilots that the loggers have a delay, in fast wind conditions this could mean up to 20 meters difference from your actual mark to where your logger is reading. Making for a bit of guess work !!
Results show that Nicola Scaife had a sold morning consolidating her lead, with Elisabeth Kinderman, Dolores Deimling and Elise Kloss all having good mornings to stay hot on her heels!!
Check out Studio LTV for many photos of the event.
Superb video of Tomoko Kurahashi acing tasks 7 and 8
Posted September 9th, 2014:
Opening Ceremony:
The opening of the Championships was a festive affair which started with a street parade and moved to the town centre where the local band and dancers put on a show and we went through the normal formalities of an opening ceremony. All pilots and crew are happy to be here and we've been looked after very well since we've arrived. Most of the competitors teams are staying in one hotel on the outskirts of Leszno, which also has the briefing hall and restaurant on site. The general briefing went smoothly with Mathijs (Director) and the Met team upbeat that we'll have some good flying mornings ahead.
First Flight Tuesday AM:
TASK SHEET
We woke to pouring rain outside our hotel rooms that luckily soon passed but also left time for fog to form over the flying area. 2 baggies and 3 Tasks were laid out on the table in briefing, JDG, HZW and RTA. We all moved in convoy to the CLA1 which is where a lot of the action is likely happen this week. A bit like the Worlds in Brazil, Leszno has a very large airfield and Mathjis has already said he will launch us from the airfield and likely set a task at the far end, also Fly In. True to his word we got it first up. We laid out at the far western end of the launch field and a task was set 080° and 1 km from the centre of the CLP. With winds shifting to a more NW direction as the fog was clearing it was clear that the target was set too far to the left and balloons were unlikely to reach the 100m MMA. After an hours wait on the field the balloons took off and as expected no one made the MMA. Task 2 HZW was next with 2 options, the northern HZW was about 100° from the JDG and southern HZW 120°, with the NW now coming through all the field decided on the southern option. Balloons staying low and hanging onto the left had best results in this task, only 4 balloons made the 100m MMA with Nicola Scaife collecting 1000 points for a drop just outside the legs. Next up was a pilot favourite Race to an Area!! Task was set that pilots had to declare their time in the logger before the green flag from when they would pass over 4km from the CLP to 8km. With changing winds it made for head scratching on the launch site. Most teams it sounded like went with an average speed of 12 kph meaning a time of 20 minutes to travel through the 4 km scoring area. Varying speeds of 9kph to 14kph made the task very possible and it will be interesting to see the scores.
Weather looks good this afternoon.
Opening Ceremony:
The opening of the Championships was a festive affair which started with a street parade and moved to the town centre where the local band and dancers put on a show and we went through the normal formalities of an opening ceremony. All pilots and crew are happy to be here and we've been looked after very well since we've arrived. Most of the competitors teams are staying in one hotel on the outskirts of Leszno, which also has the briefing hall and restaurant on site. The general briefing went smoothly with Mathijs (Director) and the Met team upbeat that we'll have some good flying mornings ahead.
First Flight Tuesday AM:
TASK SHEET
We woke to pouring rain outside our hotel rooms that luckily soon passed but also left time for fog to form over the flying area. 2 baggies and 3 Tasks were laid out on the table in briefing, JDG, HZW and RTA. We all moved in convoy to the CLA1 which is where a lot of the action is likely happen this week. A bit like the Worlds in Brazil, Leszno has a very large airfield and Mathjis has already said he will launch us from the airfield and likely set a task at the far end, also Fly In. True to his word we got it first up. We laid out at the far western end of the launch field and a task was set 080° and 1 km from the centre of the CLP. With winds shifting to a more NW direction as the fog was clearing it was clear that the target was set too far to the left and balloons were unlikely to reach the 100m MMA. After an hours wait on the field the balloons took off and as expected no one made the MMA. Task 2 HZW was next with 2 options, the northern HZW was about 100° from the JDG and southern HZW 120°, with the NW now coming through all the field decided on the southern option. Balloons staying low and hanging onto the left had best results in this task, only 4 balloons made the 100m MMA with Nicola Scaife collecting 1000 points for a drop just outside the legs. Next up was a pilot favourite Race to an Area!! Task was set that pilots had to declare their time in the logger before the green flag from when they would pass over 4km from the CLP to 8km. With changing winds it made for head scratching on the launch site. Most teams it sounded like went with an average speed of 12 kph meaning a time of 20 minutes to travel through the 4 km scoring area. Varying speeds of 9kph to 14kph made the task very possible and it will be interesting to see the scores.
Weather looks good this afternoon.
